page_title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Canadian procurement
hierarchical_section_title: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Canadian procurement
caption_attribution_description: English: A wooden mock-up of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in Canadian Forces markings at the Classic Air Rallye, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Rockcliffe Airport, Ottawa Ontario, Canada
context_page_description: The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Canadian procurement was a defence procurement project of the Canadian government to purchase Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force, a process started in 1997. The F-35 procurement has been a source of considerable controversy in public policy circles in Canada since the federal government announced its intention to purchase the aircraft in 2010. In April 2012, with the release of a highly critical Auditor General of Canada report on the failures of the government's F-35 program, the procurement was labelled a national "scandal" and "fiasco" by the media. In a December 2014 analysis of the government's handling of the procurement Ottawa Citizen writer Michael Den Tandt cited the Harper government's "ineptitude, piled upon ineptitude, and bureaucracy, and inertia, driving a lack of progress".
  The F-35 was conceived by the United States Department of Defense as requiring participation from many countries, most of whom would contribute to the manufacturing of the aircraft, as well as procuring it for their own armed forces.
context_section_description: The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Canadian procurement was a defence procurement project of the Canadian government to purchase Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), a process started in 1997. The F-35 procurement has been a source of considerable controversy in public policy circles in Canada since the federal government announced its intention to purchase the aircraft in 2010. In April 2012, with the release of a highly critical Auditor General of Canada report on the failures of the government's F-35 program, the procurement was labelled a national "scandal" and "fiasco" by the media. In a December 2014 analysis of the government's handling of the procurement Ottawa Citizen writer Michael Den Tandt cited the Harper government's "ineptitude, piled upon ineptitude, and bureaucracy, and inertia, driving a lack of progress".
  The F-35 was conceived by the United States Department of Defense as requiring participation from many countries, most of whom would contribute to the manufacturing of the aircraft, as well as procuring it for their own armed forces. Canada, through the Department of National Defence (DND) and the departments of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and Industry Canada (IC), has been actively involved in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project from its beginning in 1997. Canada's initial participation in the JSF project required a US$10 million investment from DND to be an "informed partner" during the evaluation process. Once Lockheed Martin was selected as the primary contractor for the JSF project, Canada elected to become a level-three participant (along with Norway, Denmark, Turkey, and Australia) in the JSF project. An additional US$100 million from DND over 10 years and another $50 million from IC were dedicated in 2002.
  On 16 July 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government announced that it intended to procure 65 F-35s to replace the existing 80 McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornets for C$16 billion (with all ancillary costs included) with deliveries planned for 2016. The stated intention was to sign a sole-sourced, untendered contract with Lockheed Martin. This, combined with the government's refusal to provide detailed costing of the procurement, became one of the major causes of the finding of contempt of Parliament and the subsequent defeat of the Conservative government through a non-confidence vote on 25 March 2011. The F-35 purchase was a major issue in the Canadian 2011 federal election, which resulted in a Conservative majority government.
  The Government of Canada has only stated an intention to purchase the F-35 and there is no contract to purchase any yet. There would be no cancellation fees if the government chose not to proceed, although Canadian contractors might lose F-35-related contracts as a result. Should they purchase the F-35, RCAF pilots may receive flight training either from the USAF or from contractors to allow the RCAF to devote more aircraft to the operational fleet. The F-35 did not feature in the federal budget tabled in March 2012 and was not mentioned in the Conservative Party 2015 election platform.
  On 19 October 2015 the Liberal Party of Canada under Justin Trudeau won a majority in part on a campaign promise to not purchase the F-35, but instead "one of the many, lower-priced options that better match Canada's
  defence needs".
caption: A wooden mock-up of the F-35 in Canadian Forces markings, 2010
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